British press hails India win

The British press on Saturday hailed India's historic cricket win against Pakistan, with most newspapers using pictures of an ecstatic Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid with their trophies.

Given the constant tension between the governments of these two nations and the security concerns of the Indian cricketers, that this tour happened at all was itself a cause for celebration, The Guardian said.

The Independent reported: "India's players wrote themselves into cricketing history by clinching the country's first-ever Test series win in Pakistan."

In a report headlined "India savour special moment", the Telegraph reported: "India's dream of a first Test series triumph in Pakistan was fulfilled when they won the third and final Test by an innings and 131 runs here. The 2-1 success followed their 3-2 victory in the one-day series."

The Independent added: "The wild celebrations among India's players were understandable. Even India's coach, New Zealander John Wright, was in raptures. Not only had India beaten their fierce rivals on foreign soil but they had also completed their first overseas Test series win since they overcame Sri Lanka in 1993."

The Times reported the spat between Inzamum-ul Haq and Shoaib Akhtar caustically and wrote: "Losing a Test series at home to India for the first time was bad enough for Pakistan.

"The trauma deepened yesterday when Inzamam, the Pakistan captain, criticised Shoaib's attitude and blamed the defeat on the poor performance of his pace bowlers.

"All this after another sloppy batting display condemned the home side to defeat by an innings and 131 runs within four days at Rawalpindi.

"He was unhappy with reports that Shoaib, who had a disappointing series, taking seven wickets at 42.42, had called Rashid Latif, the former captain, to complain about Inzamam's leadership," the report said.